


Amor Vincit Omnia

by HedaCarmilla



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Tags will be updated, first attempt at long fic, in the latter chapters, there will be light descriptions of a panic attack and verbal abuse to some extent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-01 10:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12703233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HedaCarmilla/pseuds/HedaCarmilla
Summary: Widowmaker wants to start a new life. But when she is followed by Talon, where can she hide? In the heart of Overwatch, where they would never look for her.





	1. Chapter 1

Another succesful mission, with no casualities for Overwatch. Angela would have been very pleased with herself, if not for a nagging thought in the back of her head. The mission had been easy, too easy. Talon's infamous sniper wasn't there, despite it being of great political importance. She couldn't help but feel that a storm was coming. She seemed to be the only one who had noticed, since her teammates were just happy to go home to their families. Family...

Angela opened the door to her dark flat, ready to jump in the shower and clean the dried blood of friend and foe alike. She carefully took off the Valkyrie Suit and put it in its rightful place with practiced ease. Her previous thoughts were almost forgotten when a stray shadow appeared in the light cast by a streetlamp. It would have been easy to mistake it for a cat if not for how familiar it was. She listened for the gunshot that never came. Angela sighed. She was being paranoid again, she told herself, and pushed her worries aside again.Still, she glanced at the door and locked it again, just in case.

It had been a long mission and she was tired. The warm shower was pure bliss and she allowed herself to enjoy it more than needed. The noise was just loud enough to cover the clinking noise made by the lock and the slow creaking of the door. However the intruder wouldn't have luck on their side for long, as Angela stopped the water as they dragged a chair across the floor. The doctor heard it through the thin walls and stealthily ran in her bedroom where she had her gun. Covered only by a towel she carefully made her way to the kitchen, where the noise seemed to come from. 

"Whoever you are, show yourself! i am armed and will not hesitate to shoot!"

The darkness in front of her gave no response, but a soft chuckle came from the living room. Angela didn't have to turn around to know who it was, she had heard it so many times before. She froze. 

" I thought you doctors had to swear to do no harm. Shooting someone doesn't seem to respect that rule." Widowmaker's voice still held the thick French accent and elegance, but it was tired and failed to accentuate the joking manner of the words. Instead it sounded cold, empty, the voice of a killer. The killer she was supposed to be.

The click of the light switch. Angela slowly turned around, expecting to find the barrel of the sniper pointed at her, but she was met with the slim figure of a bloodied assassin. After all these years of fighting widowmaker she should have learnt to see her as a killer, not as her friend, but it would be a lie to say she did. She quickly noticed that the Widow's Kiss and all of the other deadly weapons were laid down on her sofa, completely harmless and out of reach. SHe eyed Widowmaker with suspicion but slowly lowered her gun.

"Thank you."

The words echoed in the tense silence that followed, both women waiting for the other to say something. Angela decided that she may as well go first and get this over with. Her eyes didn't leave Widowmaker as she spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I ran." 

Angela was clearly confused so widowmaker continued. " I ran from Talon. I am no longer affiliated with them. "

"Why? Why come here? How did you even know where I live?"

"You are the only person I know stupid enough not to call the police, or overwatch in this case, as soon as they knew someone was stalking them. Also, I figured I would need a doctor."

Angela had thought the blood didn't belong to her, due to the lack of visible injuries, but after Widowmaker's comment she took notice of the multiple black bruises covering her body, and the slightly cowered position, as if trying to withstand great pain. The way she saw it, she had two option at the moment. Call overwatch and have them lock her up or treat her like any other patient and deal with the consequences later.

Her sound judgment went out on the window, it seemed, as she gently pushed the ex-agent back into the chair. She slipped back in work mode, evaluating the wounds.  
"I appreciate the concern, doctor, but I don't think your attire is fit for the job." Widowmaker said with a small smirk.

A faint blush tinted Angela's cheeks as she became aware once again that she was only wearing a towel, and had probably dripped all over the carpet. She nodded and cleared her throat. "It certainly could use... A change. I will be back soon, don't move. You already have a few bad bruises, and with your condition we wouldn't want to make it worse, would we?"

After receiving a nod of approval, Angela went to change. True to her word, she came back fast with a first aid kit. 

"Not exactly top-notch services, but it will have to do."

She got no answer, and Widowmaker ignored all attempts at small talk or interrogation. Eventually, Angela gave up and just took care of her. The nanomachines did most of the work. The wounds seemed like a hydra, she fixed one and found ten others. Somehow, she managed to heal all visible damage, after about two hours of investigating.  
The assassin examined her work and nodded. "Thank you, Mercy."

Angela gave a small laugh in response. "I never thought I would help an enemy... If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened? "

"I ran away. I think you can imagine how thrilled my bosses were."

"and why did you run? "

Widowmaker looked out on the window, as if it held the answers she wanted to give. To some extent it did, it had no answers to give and she would have been more than happy to be on her way now that the pain had been taken care of. Her gold eyes darkened as she remembered that she had no place to go where Talon wouldn't find her. She weighed out her options.

Angela carefully took in every detail of the woman sitting quietly in front of her, as she waited for an answer. Even purple, there was no denial that the person she had helped was Amelie Lacroix, or at the very least someone who had her body. A parasite? A ghost? Probably a bit of both. It just now hit her how tired she felt, how much she yearned for the warmth of her bed. She evaluated the situation again and again, thinking it might be a dream. Mostly she was trying to stay awake.

"They wanted to erase me again. I was getting harder to control. 'She has too much free will' they said. " she sighed. " I guess they were right. "

Angela tried to think of the right thing to say, but her mind was stuck in a loop of possibilities. From what they learnt from the files they got a few months ago, they had shattered Amelie to create Widowmaker. But what if she wasn't broken, just buried and now trying to break free? No. This wasn't a good moment, and the person in front of her wasn't the right person to talk to about that. So instead of theorizing, she tackled the matter at hand.

"Where will you go?"

Widowmaker shrugged. " I was honest with you in hopes you will let me stay and not hand me in."

"And if I refuse? or I call Jack and have you sent away?" 

Hard gold met soft blue.

" I have good aim, I doubt you want me to prove it."

Angela gulped, her throat going dry. It seemed she had no choice in the matter.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't unusual for her to skip a night of sleep in favor of drowning the images of war in work, so even tired from the mission she could handle not sleeping. No, drowsiness and exhaustion were not the problems, coffee could fix them. Her problem were those golden eyes following her every move, making sure she respected their 'agreement'. She tried to get Widowmaker to sleep, but the assassin stubbornly refused. She couldn't concentrate enough to work, the feeling of being followed disturbing her focus, so Angela suggested watching a movie. Widowmaker gave nothing more than a small nod, so small Angela almost didn't notice it. 

Now it was almost time for the sun to rise and, of course, for her to go to the base. Angela couldn't care less, her gaze unfocused, staring right through the TV. She had given up halfway through the movie and kept thinking about the new question that arose. Was Amelie still somewhere? She suspected that yes, she was. Buried under years of brain-washing, neural reconditioning and, probably, torture. But it looked like Talon's work wasn't as perfect as it seemed, the fact that she was alive after spending hours in Widowmaker's presence being enough proof. And then again, they thought it was Amelie who returned all those years ago, only to find Gerard's lifeless body two weeks after. It was a vicious cycle, finding hope and then reasoning it out only to start all over again.

She was pulled back from her thoughts by the aroma of fresh coffee. Widowmaker made no sound as she set two cups of steaming coffee on the small table in the living room. Angela noticed that the blood covering her last night was gone, and the skin-tight costume was neatly folded on the armchair, abandoned in favor of an oversized shirt and shorts. Her trademark heels were nowhere to be seen.

Angela switched her attention to the cup. She eyed it with suspicion, earning a low chuckle from the woman across from her. 

"If I wanted you dead you would have already been six feet under, Cherie. I didn't poison it." Angela wasn't yet convinced, so Widowmaker rolled her eyes and took a sip to prove her point.

This seemed to be enough, as the blonde finally dared to touch the cup. 

"Thank you, Amelie."

" Amelie is gone, Mercy. I am Widowmaker."

"Right, sorry." she looked at the coffee. "Where did you get the clothes?"

"Your closet, of course. You told me to shower and change, remember?"

Angela shook her head sheepishly. "I must have been half asleep."

She felt Widowmaker's eyes on her and looked up to meet them. For the second time that day, blue and gold clashed. This time was different, however. While her face didn't betray any sign of emotion, her eyes did. They weren't cold, threatening, like earlier. They were confused, guilty, but they still held that incredible amount of self-control earned from years of practice, either with a gun or ballet. They were warm, as if remembering something.

"Are you alright?" Angela's hand rose to rest on Widowmaker's shoulder, only to be caught midway.

"No." Widow glanced at the small clock on the wall. "You will be late. You have to leave." she released her hand. "If anyone hears that I'm here, it will be the last thing you've ever said."

Angela wanted to lie, to tell her that Overwatch could help her, could bring her back to who she once was. Then she remembered this wasn't Amelie. She sighed. It was going to be a long road, but for the first time, she had widowmaker close enough to study and maybe, just maybe, to erase. instead of talking, she nodded and sat up.

As soon as Angela left and Widow found herself alone, she took her suit and patted it until she found what she was looking for. A small holographic projector with a glowing purple skull on it. She pressed it and a screen appeared. On it the same skull.

"Merde..." she said, more to herself than to anyone else. Sombra wasn't online, which, by her logic, meant one of the two things. She had been caught, or the hacker sold her. Either way, she had to leave.

She paid no attention to the mess she was making, stuffing Angela's clothes in a bag, when she heard the static crackle of the holo-projector going online. 

"Hola, chica." a pause. "Umm, widowmaker? are you there?"

Widow waited to see if anyone else cut in before going back to the living room.

"You are late."

"And you are overly paranoid," Sombra said, taking notice of the duffle bag thrown over her shoulder. "I don't think the pretty doctor would appreciate the missing clothes."

"Oh, please, have you seen her place? it may be organized but it looks more like our old headquarters. full of dust, except the bed."

"She also has spiders now."

"Ha ha, very funny Sombra. Now back to business. Are they after me?"

"You have been gone for only what, three days? Of course they are!"

Widow sighed and looked down. "Is it safe here?"

"I'm interfering as much as I can, but try to keep a low profile. A... A lower profile.You are already too close to Overwatch."

"About that, could you keep an eye on Mercy? i want to be sure she doesn't rat me out."

Sombra leaned back into her chair and rolled her eyes. "You are asking for a lot, for a small favor. I'll see what I can do. Are you sure you want to stay there?"

"She was closest to Amelie, she will be easier to get to help."

Sombra considered it for a moment before agreeing. "Seems fair." She then looked at the door, hearing something the mic couldn't pick up. "They are coming, see ya"

and just like that, the connection was down. Widowmaker sighed relieved. She was safe, for now. Since she had nothing else to do, she started making Angela's flat more habitable. It was going to be a long day, but she couldn't stand a mess. Or dust. Or both.

Angela arrived fifteen minutes late, not that anyone cared. She was thankful for her reputation since it prevented people from complaining about her. She took a look at her schedule for that day, relieved when she saw the only team she'd have to deal with was scheduled to arrive only after noon. This meant she had enough time to work on her new nano-machines. When she proposed the admittedly morally grey idea of trying to bring humans back to life she was met with harsh disapproval from the council. So she stopped asking and just worked on it anyways, whenever she had quiet moments like this.

Angela opened an encrypted folder on her computer and tried to remember where she left off. God, she hated long breaks with a passion.

Hours later she was neck deep in papers with designs and problems that could arise. She was so focused on her work that she didn't hear the knock followed by the sound of the sliding door. She was only pulled back to reality when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, love, lost track of time again?"

Angela almost jumped out of her chair. She puts her hand over her chest and took deep breaths, trying to slow down her racing heart. "Lena! I told you not to sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry, doc, but my team and I need a check-up, remember? Don't worry, nothing deadly, just annoying scratches."

Angela looked at her watch. "Oh... Excuse my lack of punctuality." She sat up, trying not to knock any papers down.

The walk to the medical wing was short, and Angela didn't remember any of it or the patching up that followed. Most of the work was either done by nanomachines or muscle memory anyways. This meant her mind could wander. The golden light of the healing stream and how it could be improved got darker, until it reminded her of Amelie's eyes. Widowmaker, she corrected herself. Another idea started to form, what if Talon didn't brainwash her, but was using some kind of nanomachines that controlled the neural activity? With the newfound inspiration, she couldn't wait to go back home, assuming Widowmaker was still there, and get some blood samples.

She kept turning that idea around until it was time to leave the base. She was writing the last words of her report of that day when the door opened again. This time she heard it and looked up to see Tracer.

"Oh, hello, Lena. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, you did a great job, as usual." she said with a bright smile and cleared a chair to sit down. " I was wondering if you want to go get coffee. Although you look more like the tea type... hmm" she mused

Angela chuckled. "You know my blood is half made of coffee. But I was actually hoping to get back as soon as I can, I'm sorry."  
Lena's eyes widened, as did her smile. "Aww, did you find someone special? Oh, or do you have a pet? I have to know Angela! When can I meet them? Pet or human, doesn't matter"  
Despite the cheerful attitude of her friend, she couldn't help but feel her heart drop and sighed. Lena looked at her worriedly.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Actually yes, but... It's- It's complicated, okay?"

"Need to talk about it?"

Angela reconsidered the offer. "Kind of, I guess. Coffee starts to sound good."

Half an hour later she found herself staring at coffee for the second time that day. Too bad it couldn't give her any of the answers she wanted. Lena allowed her to think, maintaining a conversation that couldn't have been more one-sided if she were talking to a wall, but Angela could feel that she was running out of patience. She took a sip from the hot beverage, burning her tongue, and looked at her friend. The brunette stopped in the middle of her story and waited for her to say something, anything. 

"I..." golden eyes flashed in her mind, like a warning. She suddenly felt as if she was followed. She had to give little to no concrete details if she wanted to be safe. "Do you think nano-machines could be used to brainwash somebody?"

Lena frowned in confusion. "I have no idea. Why? Do you want to try it?"

"No, god no! I'd never take away someone's free will, no! But I was thinking that Talon might."

"Well, if it is possible, they probably do. But you yourself said it wasn't."

"That was years ago, I knew much less about nanorobotics than I do now."

"So now you think they can exist?"

Angela paused to think. "Maybe... I don't know."

"Okay, what is this about?" Lena waited for an answer but got none. She sighed. "You know, you are acting awfully similar to how you did when Amelie ran away. Are you going back to that obsession again?"

"No, I-" she was stopped by a raised hand. Lena put her drink down on the table and looked at her accusingly.

"Stop. I know you well enough to tell that you are lying to me. " She dropped her hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "You've been down this path before, it never ends well. Please, don't lose yourself again to hopeless theories. Amelie is gone now."

"But what if it isn't hopeless? Lena, what if I can bring her back?" Angela raised her voice, frustration clear in her words.

"You can't. As long as we don't even know where she is, we can't even think about doing anything regarding her!"

Angela sighed. She wanted to tell her that she could, that she had Widowmaker close enough to help. She wanted to get Overwatch involved. But she couldn't. She probably should have thought of her life as a prime example of why exactly she couldn't, but instead she reasoned that it would shatter what little trust Widowmaker seemed to have in her.

Lena put her hand over Angela's. "Look, I'm sorry, but it's a lost cause for an old case. I think you should focus on your new idea. Now that is something that could save lives!"

Angela knew that she must have looked like a kicked puppy if Lena tried to encourage her resurrection nanomachines. She was very outspoken about her negatives views on how, in her own words, Angela was trying to play God. She shook her head and put on her best fake smile. Her problems could wait, for now she wanted to enjoy Lena's company.

"Thank you. So what were you saying about the last mission?"

Lena's attitude changed instantly from annoyed and worried to excited. "Oh, you won't believe it! So there I was, in the middle of the field..."

Angela let her words fill her mind.

 

A/N: Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment or leave kudos, and here you have the second chapter. The dialogue is a bit rusty, but it gets the point across and it will improve as the story goes on ( right now I am like 3 chapters ahead but I have to edit them) . I hope you will like this <3


	3. Chapter 3

When Angela finally arrived home, she almost thought she got the wrong address. The place was spotless and full of the sunset's light. She could smell the aroma of lavender candles. She put her bag down by the entrance and hanged her coat before going in the living room, where widowmaker was typing furiously at Angela's personal computer. Angela frowned.

"How did you break my password?"

Widowmaker snapped her head at Angela while reaching for her sniper. When she saw who she was, though, she let her hand fall to her side.

"No hello at least? Who raised you?" she shook her head in mock disappointment. "You had a sticky note on the laptop with the password. And it wouldn't have been hard to guess ValkarieSuit anyways. Try to be more original next time."

Angela nodded and stood there, frozen in place. She awkwardly switched her weight from one leg to the other until Widowmaker sighed and slammed the laptop shut, a bit too forcefully. "A thank you would be nice, you know? It took me half a day to make this place seem less abandoned."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, but please don't mind me asking, why did you do it?"

"I'll have to live here for a while, won't I? Might as well not develop a dust allergy."

"I did not agree with you staying here."

"But you haven't disagreed either."

"God, you sound like an old couple after a fight! If you'll have hate sex on the sofa please tell me so I can disconnect" a third voice cut in.

Widowmaker turned to glare at the holoprojector.

"Sombra..." she growled. "I thought you said only I could turn the projector on."

"And? I lied, deal with it." she twirled a strand of her hair and looked at Angela. "Ah, pretty doctor, I almost forgot. You see, my friend here needs a place to stay, and I think that you will very much agree with it once you hear what I have to say."

Angela, who had been looking around until now, turned to the projector. She could only make out the faint outline of Sombra's body and a few pink and purple cybernetic pieces. Sombra smirked seeing she got Angela's attention and continued.

"I doubt your bosses would be happy to learn that you've been conducting unauthorized research and experiments right under Overwatch's nose, now would they? But don't worry, nobody besides those who already know must hear about it, for a small price. I guess you already know what it is, right doc?"

Angela nodded. "How...how did you find out?"

"Oh, you know, I'm a metahuman who can read minds, nothing unusual." she rolled her eyes. "Look, I have my ways. But my threat is very real. Oh, and before I go, keep in mind that I have my eyes on you."

Sombra leaned towards the camera and waved before the projector turned off.

Angela turned around and glared at Widowmaker. "You had someone stalk me?!"

"well, yes. I have to make sure you keep your promise." the assassin answered, keeping her calm. "But I did not ask her to find your little dirty secret. That she did on her own."

Angela sighed, tapping her leg. "I thought you were alone. Is there anything else I should know about? Have you really left talon, or are you here to end me, like you did with Gerard?"

Angela struck a nerve, and she knew that. Widowmaker stood up and closed up the distance between them. She was intimidating, the slight height difference making her have to look up at the purple woman. When she spoke, her words were cold and cut into her like knives.

" I never said I was alone, it's your problem what you assume. But don't you dare call me a liar. I am not with Talon, and even if I wanted to you saw what they've done to me. I couldn't go back, it would be a death sentence. And never, ever again talk about Gerard like you know shit about what happened back then. Are we clear?"

Angela felt fear climb up her spine. This was the Widowmaker she knew, the one who would kill you. She nodded, her eyes wide open.

"Good." was all she said before sitting back down and pulling the laptop back in her lap.

Angela walked to the couch and peeked over her shoulder. "Why are you searching yourself? And what browser is this?"

"This, Cherie, is the dark web. Don't worry, Sombra masked your IP. I'm trying to see if Talon put a bounty on my head yet."

Angela hummed, showing she understood. Although the air still held some tension, Widowmaker seemed to have calmed down almost instantly. Angela supposed it was due to the training she endured back at Talon. She knew she shouldn't, but she actually envied the assassin for having seemingly complete control over herself. If only she could do the same...

It was strange, but, as soon as she thought that, it hit her that she was actually calm without being in work mode. How peculiar... She wondered if it had anything to do with Widowmaker. Still leaning over the couch near Widowmaker she looked over to the watch. She frowned. it was later than she thought. She must have been out with Lena for at least two hours. She loved that girl to death, but she had way too much energy. She preferred calmer people. Her eyes lazily set on Widowmaker. 'Like her?' she asked herself. She was taken aback by the sudden thought, but she answered herself anyways. ' Yes, like her... You know, she's actually pleasant company, when she's not trying to kill you.'

Widowmaker closed the laptop and sighed satisfied. "Seems like I'm not wanted worldwide. Yet." She turned to Angela and frowned confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know how to put it. Like I did something wrong."

"Well you did threaten me, but I did overstep your boundaries... I was just..." she tried to stiffen a yawn but failed. "Just thinking."

Widowmaker chuckled. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming? You should get some sleep, Mercy."

"Why do you keep calling me that? That's my callsign, not my name. "

Widowmaker looked down at her hands. "I do not know your name..."

"Oh..." she gasped quietly. "It's - it's Angela. Angela Ziegler." she mentally facepalmed for stuttering like an idiot.

"Widowmaker. Although you already knew that... " she cleared her throat. "Anyways, you should get some sleep, Angela. Real sleep, not whatever you did last night. Don't worry, I won't kill you."

Angela wanted to deny the suggestion and stay up with her, trying to study her. But the way Widowmaker said it was more like an order that she would make sure got done. So she reluctantly agreed and made her way to her room. It hit her that she barely ate anything that day, but it was too late anyway. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

Widowmaker, who followed her to make sure she didn't stay up, sighed and shook her head before covering the blonde.

"You have to take care of yourself, Angela..." she whispered, trying to see how her name felt. She brushed some stray away hair from the doctor's mouth before quietly closing the door and getting some rest herself.

The next morning Angela woke up feeling like shit. That was putting it lightly. She felt like her head was going to explode and hurt all over. It seemed that the lack of sleep and constant stress during the mission had taken a toll on her body. She groaned as she sat up and took a quick shower. The warm water helped her muscles relax slightly, but it also woke her up enough to be aware of the dull ache in her stomach. Food. That was a thing she needed to function. And that she forgot about. Right...

She changed and called Jack to ask for a day off. Her boss was more than eager to agree, saying he was glad she finally took care of herself. He also reminded her, only half joking, that she had about two years worth of unused vacation days. She then went in the living room, ready to ask her new flatmate if she was hungry, and was surprised when she saw that Widowmaker had already ordered take-out.

"Good morning, Angela. You are up earlier than expected. I hope you don't mind I ordered while you were asleep, but you literally had no food."

Angela laughed and rubbed her eyes. "Guilty as charged." she looked at the food on the table. She giggled when she saw the croissants, but still stole one and sat down next to her.

During the meal, Angela was pleasantly surprised when Widowmaker tried to make small talk, and even attempted to take interest in her work. She found it especially cute when Widowmaker gave her a dumbfounded look when she tried to explain nanorobotics to her. Part of her felt as if she had Amelie back, but her rational side stopped her from getting more false hope. When they finally finished, Angela sighed.

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? I mean I'm thankful we aren't trying to kill each other but we were only months ago. Why? Why the sudden change?"

"Because I want to."

"I don't get it."

Widowmaker looked out of the window again. Zürich's morning traffic couldn't be heard from Angela's flat, so they stood in silence while the ex-agent tried to gather her thoughts. When she felt ready, she began.

"I told you I am no longer with Talon. I don't want them to control me anymore, so I'm trying to change everything they made me be. Don't take me wrong, I do not regret what I've done, all of the politicians I've killed deserved what they got."

Angela looked at her confused. "If you don't have regrets, why change?"

"Do you have any idea how having your every move controlled feels? How it is to have your thoughts regulated, to be drugged and scared into submission ?" she said, her voice cracking. She didn't wait for an answer, and continued, trying to ground herself. "It's a fate worse than death. I can try to forget it, but as long as I keep the personality they developed for me I will never be free. I have to change, Angela. I have to be stronger than them..." Widowmaker's voice went down until it was almost a whisper.

For the first time, Angela didn't see Widowmaker as Amelie, or as an assassin, but as a person. A broken, scared person who, for some reason, trusted her enough with her motivation. The selfish part of her wanted to take pride in having Widowmaker's trust, but she pushed it aside and let her empathy side take over. She didn't know what to say, so she just slowly hugged her. She may not be able to understand her pain, but she could try to protect her from further hurt. She tried to convey it with our words, hoping Widowmaker would understand.

Widowmaker's mind was in a blank state of panic. Her senses were heightened and she became hyperaware of her surroundings, ready to jump at the smallest threat. Talon's methods were gone from her body, thanks to the doctor, but in her mind, they were still fresh. She felt her breath pick up its pace and then a pair of arms wrap around her. Even cold, they still felt warm against her skin. It helps her ground herself, but it wasn't enough to completely calm down. She held onto Angela back, as if trying to use her to pull herself back to reality.

They stood like that a while. Angela began at one point to whisper reassuring words into her ear, hoping it would help. Widowmaker let her. Even after she calmed down, Widowmaker didn't let her go, enjoying the feeling of having someone close. Someone who didn't want something from her. She knew this was a moment of weakness that Talon would have punished her for, and it somehow made everything better. Angela was growing more and more worried as Widowmaker kept being quiet and clinging to her, since she wasn't known as someone who felt for long periods, but she didn't say anything. She realized she needed it too, a quiet moment to sort through her own thoughts.

When they finally pulled apart, Widowmaker thanked her.

Merely moments later, as if on cue, Angela's phone rang. She frowned when she saw the caller's ID and picked up almost instantly.

"Lena? Is everything alright? Did something go wrong with the training?"

"No, Jack just filled us in on some new info. It seems that Talon lost Widowmaker. One of our hackers found some security footage."

Angela tried to fake surprise. " Are you sure? Maybe it's just an attempt to pull us into a trap."

"Well, Jack seemed pretty sure. He said that if we find her we are to pursue her and get her to the base. He wants to recruit her. Or, you know, try to."

"Widowmaker working with Overwatch? Now that's a real stretch." The ex-agent looked at her in confusion. Angela raised a finger to her purple lips to prevent her from talking.

"Hey, I didn't say I agreed with him. But we got Genji and Mccreee on our side, so nothing's impossible, luv. Anyways, I gotta run. See ya! Oh, and make sure to rest, you must be really bad if you took a day off!"

Angela didn't even get to say goodbye as Tracer ended the call. A vague idea was starting to form in Angela's mind. Jack was willing to recruit Widowmaker, who wanted to get away from Talon. It was worth a try.

"What was that about?"

"Overwatch knows you ran away. Jack wants to recruit you... " Angela looked at her hopefully waiting or an answer to the unasked question.

"No."

"No?"

"No. I'm done with fighting other people's battles."

"But think about it! It is a chance to undo all that you've done!"

"Yes, on condition that I follow their every order. I thought you understood that I am done taking orders."

Angela understood alright and knew she should step down, but her pride didn't let her.

"It would allow you to go out of hiding!"

"And put me in plain sight for Talon. Thanks, but no."

"But-"

"Enough!" Widowmaker raised her voice. "I said I will not join your organization and this is final. Are we clear?"

Angela knew better than to keep pushing. She was already walking on thin ice. "Alright. I'm sorry for pushing."

Widowmaker sighed and turned on the television. Feeling that she'd have no luck in trying to talk with her, Angela cleaned the table then went to work on the resurrection nanomachines.


End file.
